NFL Draft Prospect: Andre Roberts

Andre Roberts, WR, Citadel

Dum spiro spero– “While I breathe, I hope.”

After Andre Roberts’ impressive Senior Bowl performance, these words, written on the Citadel Ring, symbolize what many NFL GM’s will be thinking on Draft Day, as in “We hope that he will still be there when we pick next.”

“It was a big step-up in competition. I played against Florida, Clemson, Wisconsin the last three years. I’ve played against some good competition before, but top competition every single rep was a big change. The speed changed a little too, it was faster. Didn’t effect me though.” Andre wasn’t intimidated, and it showed, Roberts grabbing two balls for 45 yards during the game.

That solid showing followed a great week of practice, where multiple teams expressed interest in him, including the Patriots. “Lots of teams expressed interest, and I did interview with the Patriots. It was real thorough, I was grilled a little bit. I did real well though.”

When asked what Andre sees as his biggest shortcoming on the field, he stated “I need to work on blocking more than anything. Also, I could work on exploding after my release. I’m good at getting off the press, but exploding out of [my release] into my route is where I have a little problem sometimes.”

One opponent and one teammate left a distinct impression on Roberts during the Senior Bowl. “Jerome Murphy from South Florida, he was a really physical guy, liked to press. Zac Robinson too, I never saw him play before, he just showed me through practice that he can really play well.”

Next up for Roberts is the NFL Scouting Combine. He is currently working out at API and says he will probably run in the 4.4’s during his forty. The 3-cone drill is where Roberts says he will excel.

Don’t excel too much Andre, or those GM’s will be breathing heavier than normal come NFL Draft day.